Kamehameha Schools Maui Laptop Project: Findings from Classroom Observations and Teacher Interviews - A Summary
Introduction
The Maui Campus of Kamehameha Schools provided Dell laptop computers to all high school faculty and students for the 2003-2004 academic year for use at both home and school. In collaboration with the Policy Analysis and System Evaluation (PASE) research staff for Kamehameha Schools, Rockman et al were drafted to evaluate laptop program. Rockman et al used observation and interviews to collect data.
Results
Students’ Level of Technical Skills Researchers found that generally, students were quite skilled at using their laptops. Students worked without the help of teachers and were able to solve problems if something went wrong nearly all of the time spent on laptops (90%). Students used Word for free writing and KWL sessions, to edit poems using the track changes feature, to create brochures and advertisements based on content they were learning, and to write letters in Hawaiian. Excel was used to keep track of stock prices, to work on a sales model for breaking even, and to create a personal database of careers. Students used PowerPoint to make presentations to their classmates, and in one math class, students used graphical analysis software to build an octagon. When students used email, they were often sending assignments to their teacher.
Teachers’ Reflections About the Laptop Program
Teachers spoke about numerous ways that they think laptops assist students to reach learning goals. Particularly, they said that:
Laptop use helps students gain a better understanding of material through Internet research and the ability to access primary resources, which support learning goals. Also, information found on the Internet is more up-to-date than textbooks.
Laptop use helps students with skill building through performing calculations, and reinforcement of reading comprehension, typing, and study skills.
Laptop use improves the quality of students’ assignments because the typed assignments are neater, easier to read, and more creative.
Laptop use helps students communicate more effectively and quickly via the use of email.
Laptop use helps students work more efficiently because their assignments are easily transported to be worked on at both school and home.
Apart from using laptops for Internet research, PowerPoint presentations, and word processing, teachers reported that students also conducted virtual dissections, created Web pages, and created a soundtrack CD to accompany a class reading.
Overall, six teachers said they definitely wanted the laptop program to continue, but three said they did not. Two teachers said that they were not sure that the program was necessary.
Challenges to the Laptop Program Teachers spoke about numerous challenges of the laptop program: including monitoring students’ use, limited access, variable student skills, students’ lack of responsibility, technical problems, and teachers’ comfort/skills with computers.
Monitoring students’ laptop use was challenging; managing behaviour was time-consuming, students took out laptops at inopportune times, and students went off-task and played games, sent email, and searched the Internet without teacher knowledge. For at least one teacher, student plagiarism became an issue when two students submitted identical research papers that had been taken from the Internet
Although students could take their laptops home, teachers complained that home use was limited to software available on the computers, students could not print at home, and students wanted to print or finish assignments during class when it was not completed at home.
Most students had no have Web access, so accessing email or conducting Internet research was not done from home. Teachers complained that students were blocked from downloading files and so did not have full access on their computers.
Several student computers had technical problems that were not due to student misuse.
Teachers indicated that there were not enough extra computers for students to use while laptops were being repaired, which was disruptive to instruction when all students were supposed to be working on computers. One teacher complained that because students can complete their coursework efficiently with their laptops, when students do not have laptops, they rapidly fall behind.
Several teachers reported student misuse of laptops – popping off keys, standing on laptops, and taking other students’ batteries. Also, students used memory for games, music, or pictures and did not always have enough room for schoolwork.
Many teachers reported problems with being prepared to integrate technology into lessons.
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Benefits of the Laptop Program
Teachers talked about many benefits to having the laptop program including more access to information, improved quality of student work, availability of tools that increase students’ learning (such as providing immediate visual feedback), individualized instruction, and increased technology skills.
Laptops allowed for convenient and rapid access to information in the classroom as opposed to going to the library.
Laptops allowed students to find connections between things and to take ownership of their learning in ways not previously done.
Laptops allowed students to turn in work that looked better, had been spell-checked, and included research conducted on the Internet. Many teachers believed that seeing the increased quality of work could build students’ self-confidence and creativity. Also, teachers reported that the better quality work made grading more efficient.
Teachers reported that the laptops encouraged students to do their own work, so students often worked independently with less guidance. And, because students were working autonomously, teachers improved individualized instruction.
Most teachers observed and interviewed were using their own laptops for lesson preparation and instruction and were integrating laptop work into students’ assignments. Some teacher said that they were more creative in their teaching methods and creating assignments.
Recommendations
Rockman et al recommended guidelines for further program development as well as technical and curriculum implementation suggestions.
Develop Program Guidelines
Develop guidelines about expectations for teachers’ use of the laptops and provide examples. Include teachers in these discussions and review the guidelines periodically.
Set clear rules for students’ use and treatment of the laptops including when and where laptop use is allowed and what types of software/programs are acceptable in class and at home. Include teacher, parent and student representatives in these discussions and review the guidelines periodically.
Develop a system of accountability for laptops that includes documentation and clear consequences for abuse or misuse of the laptops.
Technical and Implementation Issues
Provide training for all teachers that includes the mechanics for using the laptops as well as support for integration of curriculum before the academic year begins. All teachers should be required to attend curriculum integration trainings as part of professional development activities.
Provide training for all new laptop students about the basic mechanics of laptops and the school’s network, including how to access files at home, where to save files, and how to synchronize with the network.
Offer technical support for students; support can be provided by staff and/or students in the school (e.g., a student technology support group).
Provide each classroom with at least one printer and provide students with access to centrally located printers for assignments worked on outside of class.
Equip students with sufficient memory to save schoolwork as well as some personal files; if students use the laptops for both schoolwork and personal things they may be more disposed to take care of them.
Assess the rate of laptop repairs in order to obtain enough loaner laptops for students to use while their laptops are being serviced.
How does this article compare toWhat added value does a 1:1 student to laptop ratio bring to technology-supported teaching? by Dunleavy, Dextert, and Heinecket?
What Added Value…includes and introduction and review of relevant literature that gives readers a good overview of what has been studied and published on the topic at hand, whereas Rockman et al’s article gives almost no background at all. In fact, this added detail in the beginning of one article and not the other is mirrored throughout, so that Dunleavy’s group has created a much more detailed, comprehensive article. For example, the article above does not offer a lot in the way of specific classroom examples; Dunleavy’s group, on the other hand, numerous very specific examples of classroom observations as well as explicitly trying to answer the question of what value was added by laptop use. What Added Value…also allots a section of their article to the use of Ecommunications (video/audio/data online environments), which is a lot more informative about classroom websites as well as being more applicable to what is now referred to as Web 2.0. For example, readers can learn about how teachers and students in the Dunleavy study tried to build “local communities within and among different classes”. The Dunleavy article also provided examples of teachers thwarting intellectual freedom by filtering and disallowing student to use Google or search the Internet at all.
How does this article compare to Russell, Bebell and Higgins’sLaptop Learning: A Comparison of Teaching and Learning in Upper Elementary Classrooms Equipped With Shared Carts of Laptops and Permanent 1:1 Laptops?
Just as What Added Value…included an informative introduction and a review of related literature, Laptop Learning includes some strong background information that readers do not get in Rockman et al’s article. Laptop Learning also gives some simple information in diagram form, such as mean student school computer use by subject area, which is not replicated in Rockman et al’s article. Another plus of Laptop Learning is the section entitled Classroom Structure Differed Between the 1:1 and Shared Classrooms, which delves into ways in which ubiquitous laptops informed class groups and the structure of classroom activities. One important report from Laptop Learning indicated that students in the program used computers at home more frequently for schoolwork, which was not indicated in Rockman et al’s report.
Introduction
The Maui Campus of Kamehameha Schools provided Dell laptop computers to all high school faculty and students for the 2003-2004 academic year for use at both home and school. In collaboration with the Policy Analysis and System Evaluation (PASE) research staff for Kamehameha Schools, Rockman et al were drafted to evaluate laptop program. Rockman et al used observation and interviews to collect data.Results
Students’ Level of Technical SkillsResearchers found that generally, students were quite skilled at using their laptops. Students worked without the help of teachers and were able to solve problems if something went wrong nearly all of the time spent on laptops (90%). Students used Word for free writing and KWL sessions, to edit poems using the track changes feature, to create brochures and advertisements based on content they were learning, and to write letters in Hawaiian. Excel was used to keep track of stock prices, to work on a sales model for breaking even, and to create a personal database of careers. Students used PowerPoint to make presentations to their classmates, and in one math class, students used graphical analysis software to build an octagon. When students used email, they were often sending assignments to their teacher.
Teachers’ Reflections About the Laptop Program
Teachers spoke about numerous ways that they think laptops assist students to reach learning goals. Particularly, they said that:Apart from using laptops for Internet research, PowerPoint presentations, and word processing, teachers reported that students also conducted virtual dissections, created Web pages, and created a soundtrack CD to accompany a class reading.
Overall, six teachers said they definitely wanted the laptop program to continue, but three said they did not. Two teachers said that they were not sure that the program was necessary.
Challenges to the Laptop Program
Teachers spoke about numerous challenges of the laptop program: including monitoring students’ use, limited access, variable student skills, students’ lack of responsibility, technical problems, and teachers’ comfort/skills with computers.
.
Benefits of the Laptop Program
Teachers talked about many benefits to having the laptop program including more access to information, improved quality of student work, availability of tools that increase students’ learning (such as providing immediate visual feedback), individualized instruction, and increased technology skills.Recommendations
Rockman et al recommended guidelines for further program development as well as technical and curriculum implementation suggestions.Develop Program Guidelines
Technical and Implementation Issues
How does this article compare to What added value does a 1:1 student to laptopratio bring to technology-supported teaching? by Dunleavy, Dextert, and Heinecket?
What Added Value…includes and introduction and review of relevant literature that gives readers a good overview of what has been studied and published on the topic at hand, whereas Rockman et al’s article gives almost no background at all. In fact, this added detail in the beginning of one article and not the other is mirrored throughout, so that Dunleavy’s group has created a much more detailed, comprehensive article. For example, the article above does not offer a lot in the way of specific classroom examples; Dunleavy’s group, on the other hand, numerous very specific examples of classroom observations as well as explicitly trying to answer the question of what value was added by laptop use. What Added Value…also allots a section of their article to the use of Ecommunications (video/audio/data online environments), which is a lot more informative about classroom websites as well as being more applicable to what is now referred to as Web 2.0. For example, readers can learn about how teachers and students in the Dunleavy study tried to build “local communities within and among different classes”. The Dunleavy article also provided examples of teachers thwarting intellectual freedom by filtering and disallowing student to use Google or search the Internet at all.
How does this article compare to Russell, Bebell and Higgins’s Laptop Learning: A Comparison of Teaching and Learning in Upper Elementary Classrooms Equipped With Shared Carts of Laptops and Permanent 1:1 Laptops?
Just as What Added Value…included an informative introduction and a review of related literature, Laptop Learning includes some strong background information that readers do not get in Rockman et al’s article. Laptop Learning also gives some simple information in diagram form, such as mean student school computer use by subject area, which is not replicated in Rockman et al’s article. Another plus of Laptop Learning is the section entitled Classroom Structure Differed Between the 1:1 and Shared Classrooms, which delves into ways in which ubiquitous laptops informed class groups and the structure of classroom activities. One important report from Laptop Learning indicated that students in the program used computers at home more frequently for schoolwork, which was not indicated in Rockman et al’s report.
Rockman et al. (2004, July 15). Kamehameha Schools Maui Laptop Project: Findings from Classroom Observations and Teacher Interviews. Retrieved February 24, 2009, from http://www.rockman.com/projects/129.pase.maui/maui_laptop1_final.pdf